Road Warrior

Stetson Plan Has Critic

The University Wants To Slow Traffic Along Amelia Avenue, But An Opponent Wants The Road Left Alone.

October 28, 2000|By Rich McKay of The Sentinel Staff

DELAND -- Stetson University wants cars to slow down on North Amelia Avenue, and it's willing to spend $2 million during the next five or 10 years to do it.

It's a stretch of road where many of the school's 2,200 students crisscross between buildings on the historic campus. And as the city grows, so does the school's worry about the number of cars driving down the street.

As a bonus, the project would beautify Amelia and make it safer for students at no cost to the public, Stetson spokesman Brian Miller said.

Brick columns, gentle turns, stylish lights, bigger sidewalks, trees and other landscaping would adorn a stretch of Amelia from Ohio Avenue to University Avenue.

Fourteen years ago, Stetson proposed closing seven streets to cars. This came after Stetson successfully closed part of Minnesota Avenue, where Prelec used to live, to cars.

Stetson's efforts in the mid-1980s ground to a halt, in part because of the efforts of Prelec and his citizens group, Save Our Streets.

So when he heard about the latest proposal, he dusted off his old posters and made some more "Stop Stetson'' and "Save Our Streets'' bumper stickers.

Prelec, the president and owner of a transformer-manufacturing company, has mailed hundreds of new bumper stickers and will likely send 1,000 or so before he's done.

Miller said Prelec's fears are unfounded.

"There's no top-secret plot,'' Miller said. "All we're trying to do are two things: Make Amelia safer for our students and the public, and beautify it.

"There are a lot of unpleasant ways to slow down traffic,'' he said, "but we've worked for more than a year to come up with a way that is agreeable.''

Prelec's contention is, if you want to make Amelia safer, don't make it smaller.

The street is now 66 feet wide. The proposed improvements would reduce that by 8 feet.

"It's a farce,'' Prelec said. "If they want the road to be safer, put up a blinking yellow light, a speed sign and save $2 million.''

Miller said speed signs wouldn't necessarily make Amelia safer and they certainly wouldn't make it prettier.

No decisions have been made on the road. The Volusia County Council has jurisdiction over it. Permits have not been filed, Miller said, but if all goes well, the ground-breaking could begin in the summer of 2001.